Sunday, December 13, 2015

Soft Enough For A King (Christmas heirloom tradition)

For Christmas this year, we received the most darling package from a company called, 



It came in a box, beautifully packaged. When I opened it up, I saw the sweetest Baby Jesus, a manger (that did not need to be put together - bonus), a beautiful hard bound book, and sheets of service straw to be placed in the manger when acts of service are performed. My Jesus-loving four-year-old son was with me when I opened the package, and was instantly enamored with what he saw. 


He played with baby Jesus for nearly 2 hours, in a makeshift cardboard stable, and insisted on sleeping with him that night. 


We read the story right away (3 times in a row), and he soon informed me that this is his favorite book. We have read it every day since receiving the package last week. The thing I love about the story, as a mom, is that it is right on the level a young child can understand. We have tried to read a few other nativity stories in the past, and he was easily bored. 


The pictures are charming, and the story encourages children to, be the good, do good, and help others. I wouldn't be able to tell the story as well as the book, and you can read an overview of the story and see actual vibrant yummy pages from the book HERE.


I consider this box an heirloom Christmas decoration/activity. I am thankful to have welcomed this tradition into our Christmas library this year, and hope my children will feel the true spirit of Christmas as they look for reasons to serve each other, and prepare a manger, Soft Enough for a King, this holiday season.

If you would like to purchase your own set of, Soft Enough for a King, Please visit their website at www.softenough.com. They are offering 15% off this week! These would make fantastic gifts, especially for that person who has everything.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa



Christmas Village With Cricut Explore Air


I was so very excited last week to be able to tour the Cricut headquarters in Draper Utah. They generously provided me with a Cricut Explore Air of my very own, and more than enough supplies to get me started creating! Thank you Cricut!!!

This is a pic of me, and Melissa, she runs blogger and influencer partnerships at Cricut. She is amazing, and so fun. I am looking forward to building our friendship!


I have wanted a Cricut for years, and wish I would have gotten one sooner, because it is AMAZING, truly amazing! I am dying at all the things it can do. I woke up at 4am the day after I got my machine, unable sleep because my head was spinning, full of ideas of things to make and create!


One of the ideas I have had in my head for a while now, is for a centerpiece for my kitchen table. I wanted it pretty and interesting on both sides, (no front and back) and fun for kids, since that's who will see it the most. Cricut has this most adorable clipart type printable Christmas Village! This was even more cute than what I was envisioning before I started. Don't you just love when you are pleasantly surprised and find better options than you had imagined?


Did you know you can print Cricut images out on your printer, and then put them in your Cricut machine, and it will cut them out for you? I had no idea. It is truly remarkable! So, that's what I did with the images I found. The printing and cutting details are amazing! Look at those darling clothes!


Just a quick note: In this post, I will be using links to Cricut. If you choose to click on one of my links, and end up purchasing a Cricut, I will receive monetary compensation. I'd love the support! Thanks!


I used the awesome, Cricut Design Space Ap, for this darling little village. I used the cartridge called, Snow Angel. If you get a monthly or yearly subscription to Cricut, then access to this cartridge is free! The cartridge comes with loads of characters, animals and buildings. The art work is intricate and adorable.


As I mentioned before, all I did was pull the mages I wanted from the cartridge into my project, print them off on my home printer, and put the printed papers into my Cricut to cut them out. It really was that easy!


I created a front and back mirrored version of each image, so I could tape them together after I cut them out, and they would stand up. I then filled this tray my husband made for me with white dollar store sand and rocks. I put rocks between the feet of the characters, and bottoms of the houses to get them to stand.


I love using this tray as a centerpiece for my kitchen table. Part of the fun of making this village out of paper with patterns on both sides, is that it doesn't take up much room, so creating the scene on both sides is fast and easy.


I used these darling DIY Yarn Bottle Brush Trees. They were the perfect addition, adding texture and interest. I think I like the snow angel characters the best!


Good news is Cricut has FREE SHIPPING through the end of the year, using THIS coupon!

I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to get a Cricut of my own. Check it out. It might just change your creative life!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a Happy and Creative Day!
Risa


DIY Yarn Bottle Brush Trees

I have been seeing these daring yarn bottle brush trees all over Pinterest lately, and fell instantly in love with them. They add warmth and texture to any winter scape, and are perfect for holiday decorating!


You'll need:
Yarn, Scissors, Craft wire (I happened to have floral wire, and it worked just fine.) Wire cutting pliers, Cork, Small Nail.


I wrapped my yarn around my fingers until I felt like I had enough, then slipped it off my fingers. I cut up each side, and laid it in the middle (near the fold, which will be the top) of a long piece of wire that was folded in half. THIS is a great example of how to do it. I did it at night, in a room without proper lighting, so I did't get great pictures of the process. In the example, they used pliers to twist the wire. That was hard for me, so I ended up just twisting the wire with my hands, and it worked great! When you end up with the wire twisted as tightly as you can, it's time to give your tree a trim. You'll have a large pile of cutoff yarn.


After you have trimmed enough off, twist the remaining bottom wire to add sturdiness, and cut it off. Choose the cork you want to use for the base. You can also just cut the wire off at the bottom of the tree, and not use a base. It will stand up on its own. I wanted my trees a little taller, so I added a cork for a base. I used a nail to poke a hole in the cork, and then put the wire base in the hole. The wire I used was not strong enough to make its own hole.


You are finished, and have a darling little tree. I love that this project doesn't cost much, and that you can customize to any color you want, to match your color scheme.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risaa

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